There is an unexpected delay on the front line of Ontario’s drug crisis.
Guelph’s new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub, the treatment centres meant to replace consumption and treatment services (CTS) sites, will not open as planned on April 1.
That’s the date CTS sites located within 200 metres of a school or daycare are supposed to be replaced with the provincially-mandated HART Hubs, but there is a glaring problem.
“We still don’t have a funding agreement yet,” said Melissa Kwiatkowski, CEO of the Guelph Community Health Centre which will operate the new HART Hub.
She says not having that confirmation of funding from the province is resulting in some significant gaps.
“Things like additional crisis beds, things like additional supportive housing capacity. Not having those services online will be a challenge,” said Kwiatkowski.
That means clients won’t be able to bring and use outside drugs while under supervision of health and support professionals. HART Hubs prohibit that.
“This is not an either/or situation – HART Hub or CTS. I really believe we need to be taking a both/and approach to this. In the midst of a public health crisis, we need all the tools available to us to support people and make sure they have access to the health care services that they need and deserve,” said Kwiatkowski.
That’s why not knowing the full picture about their funding is causing some concern. Vital services are already being eliminated by design through this transition so they want to offer everything they can from day one.
A spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Health responded to the delay in an email to CTV News.
“The first round of funding has been approved by the Ministry and will be received by the sites early next week. The Ministry of Health is continuing to work with Hub partners to collect information on their multi-year operational budgets,” the statement reads in part.
While Kwiatkowski and her team have laid a lot of the groundwork to roll out all the services, it takes a bit of time to put it into practice.
“We have job postings ready to go. We have referral pathways developed,” she said. “We have done a lot of the foundational and development work. We just haven’t been able to implement.”
Kwiatkowski adds there has been a lot of community support to try and fill the gaps.
“We’ve actually had a lot of interest from local businesses, service providers, the library to have training on naloxone administration, how you respond to a drug poisoning, de-escalation and all of these types of things. So we are really trying our best to equip the community for what the closure [of CTS sites] will mean,” she said.
Drug strategy specialist Michael Parkinson says not having everything in place and on time could have deadly consequences.
That’s especially the case when you take away the lifesaving tool that is a CTS site, he says.
“It is the situation right across Ontario that the funding failed to materialize before the election and since the election,” said Parkinson, who is also a part of the Waterloo Region Drug Action Team. “Last year in Waterloo Region there were 147 suspected drug toxicity deaths according to the Coroner of Ontario. That is near record for this region … it’s about to get worse, not better.”
Parkinson says if these new HART Hubs are starting off on the wrong foot, with fewer supports than originally outlined, people who need the services may lose trust and forego the new centres altogether.
“We continue to see a real absence of urgency on the part of governments,” said Parkinson. “It’s a real shame. And people are going to die.”
Kitchener’s HART Hub
As for the operators of Kitchener’s future HART Hub location, it’s a similar situation.
Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo says they’ve been working since January to develop the principles of service as well as ways to mitigate risks for the CTS site closure, but that all services won’t be up and running as of April 1.
“We are working closely with Ontario Health and the Ministry of Health who have indicated that the funding is approved, and will be received shortly,” a statement from CEO Tara Groves-Taylor reads in part. “The HART Hub of Waterloo Region will open April 1, 2025, with scaled services available, and will transition to the full model of Hart Hub programs and services over several months.”
